Sea Ray® Celebrates 65th Anniversary with Dealers at The Westin Resort in Cape Coral, FL

Published on April 5th, 2024

Knoxville, Tenn. (April 5, 2024) — Sea Ray celebrated its 65th anniversary at its marine industry dealer meeting April 3-5 at The Westin Resort in Cape Coral, Florida. During the event, attendees enjoyed training, business updates, award recognitions, and on-water product demonstrations of Sea Ray’s latest model line-up including the award-winning SLX 260 Outboard and all-new SDX 270 Surf. The event was attended by dealers from around the world. Sea Ray president, Keith Yunger, Brunswick Boat Group president Aine Denari and Brunswick CEO, Dave Foulkes, shared business updates and congratulations on the company’s long-standing heritage and view of the future.  
 
The anniversary awards dinner was headlined by legendary college football coach, Urban Meyer, also a Sea Ray owner. Sea Ray honored dealers in categories for Lifetime Achievement, Customer Satisfaction (NPS), Market Leadership, Overall Excellence and Legacy Recognition for 65 or more years in business.  
 
“It’s a pleasure to honor the incredible dealers who have been integral to our success,” said Yunger. “Reaching the milestone of our 65th anniversary is a tremendous accomplishment, and it feels even more special being able to celebrate with those who have been loyal to the brand for decades and through generations.” 
 
Ronald Bensz from B&E Marine was honored posthumously with the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was accepted on his behalf by his son and second-generation Sea Ray dealer, Rod Bensz. Individuals are selected for this award in recognition of their lasting impressions left on the marine industry, their place of business and their impact through their personal connections.  
 
“We are extremely grateful that our father, who passed this February at the age of 95, is being honored by Sea Ray with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Bensz.  “Dad lived such a full life, was loved by everyone, had a major impact in our community and the boating industry.  He was not only a dreamer; he was a doer!  We were signed as a dealer in 1973 and have been proud to be a Sea Ray dealer now for over 50 of our 71 years in business.”  
 
Here's a look at all the North American award winners from the 65th anniversary celebration:

Overall Excellence 
Irwin Marine 
MarineMax Brick  
MarineMax Fort Myers  
MarineMax Pensacola 
Mau Marine 

Market Leader 
Erwin Marine Sales 
Hutchinson's Boat Works  
Hyannis Marina  
Paul's Marine  
MarineMax Boston  
MarineMax Brick  
MarineMax Clearwater  
MarineMax Danvers  
MarineMax Fort Myers  
MarineMax Hall Lake Wylie 
MarineMax Miami  
MarineMax Norwalk  
MarineMax Pensacola 
MarineMax Ship Bottom 
MarineMax St. Petersburg 
MarineMax Wakefield 

Unrivaled Support for Customer Service 
American Boat Center  
B & E Marine  
Clews & Strawbridge  
Colony Marine  
Erwin Marine Sales 
Erwin Marine Sales – Huntsville  
Fox Chapel Marine 
Gone Fishin' Marine  
Irwin Marine  
Lynnhaven Marine  
M&P Mercury Sales 
MarineMax Brant Beach  
MarineMax Brick  
MarineMax Clearwater  
MarineMax Danvers  
MarineMax Excelsior  
MarineMax Fort Myers  
MarineMax Huntington 
MarineMax Lake Ozark 
MarineMax Miami  
MarineMax Naples  
MarineMax Norwalk  
MarineMax Orlando 
MarineMax Pensacola 
MarineMax Somers Point  
MarineMax Venice 
MarineMax Wrightsville Beach  
Mau Marine  
Prince William Marine Sales 
Russell Marine - The Ridge  
Saba Marine 
Sea Ray of Cincinnati 
SkipperBud's of Madison 
Smith Boys North Tonawanda 
Smith Boys of Syracuse Sun Country Marine 
Sundance Marine 
Trudeau's Sea Ray  
Trudeau's Sea Ray – Portland 
Walstrom Marine  
Watercraft Sales 

Legacy Recognition  
B & E Marine  
Colony Marine Sales & Service 
Dry Dock Boat Sales  
F.R. Smith & Sons  
Hutchinson's Boat Works  
Irwin Marine  
M & P Mercury Sales 
Needham's Marine Limited 
Paul's Marine  
Prince William Marine Sales, Inc. 
Russell Marine 
Sea Ray of Cincinnati 
SkipperBud's 
Smith Boys  
Trudeau's Sea Ray - Portland, Inc. 
Trudeau's Sea Ray – Spokane 
Walstrom Marine, LLC 

Sea Ray would like to thank its 65th anniversary marine industry dealer meeting event partners: 
Bluewater Finance 
Boater’s Choice Insurance 
Brunswick Acceptance Company 
Brunswick Product Protection​ 
Fliteboard​ 
Fusion​ 
Great Lakes Boat Top​ 
Hyperlite Wake Company 
Kenyon​ 
Mercury​ 
Navico Group​/Simrad 
Powertex​ 
SeaDek​ 
Sunbrella​ 
Xtreme Towers

ABOUT SEA RAY

Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., Sea Ray is the world’s leading creator of superior quality pleasure boats. For more than 65 years, Sea Ray has pushed the limits of performance and craftsmanship to elevate the boating experience. Each Sea Ray is designed to make every moment exceptional, supporting boaters’ unique lifestyles with a customized balance of unparalleled comfort and performance and world-class technology throughout. Learn more about the Sea Ray Experience at SeaRay.com.

ABOUT BRUNSWICK

Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) is the global leader in marine recreation, delivering innovation that transforms experiences on the water and beyond. Our unique, technology-driven solutions are informed and inspired by deep consumer insights and powered by our belief that “Next Never Rests™”. Brunswick is dedicated to industry leadership, to being the best and most trusted partner to our many customers and to building synergies and ecosystems that enable us to challenge convention and define the future. Brunswick is home to more than 60 industry-leading brands. In the category of Marine Propulsion, these brands include, Mercury Marine, Mercury Racing, MerCruiser and Flite. Brunswick’s comprehensive collection of parts, accessories, distribution and technology brands includes Mercury Parts & Accessories, Land ‘N’ Sea, Lowrance, Simrad, B&G, Mastervolt, RELiON, Attwood and Whale. Our boat brands are some of the best known in the world, including Boston Whaler, Lund, Sea Ray, Bayliner, Harris Pontoons, Princecraft and Quicksilver. Our service, digital and shared-access businesses include Freedom Boat Club, Boateka and a range of financing, insurance and extended warranty businesses. While focused primarily on the marine industry, Brunswick also successfully leverages its portfolio of advanced technologies to deliver an exceptional suite of solutions in mobile and industrial applications. Headquartered in Mettawa, IL, Brunswick has more than 17,000 employees operating in 25 countries. In 2023, Brunswick was named by Forbes as a World’s Best Employer and as one of America’s Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek, both for the fourth consecutive year. The Company was also named to the 2023 list of Best Companies to Work For by U.S. News & World Report and one of America’s Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek. For more information, visit www.Brunswick.com.